Northern Beauties

Though they were formed in the 2013, the music created by Northern Beauties sounds like it exists outside the constraints of time. At moments, it evokes the present like a sunny Saturday morning, then it slips off, an ethereal trace of memory on a moonlit forest trail just off Bill Monroe’s back porch. The band was born when Todd Stewart — who, lured by mountain majesty, moved from Edmonton over a decade ago — finally listened to his wife, who yearned for the songs she heard as he sang them from the couch, not the shiny pop/rock music he kept bringing home from the studio. When Stewart invited Craig Aikman to lend his talents, they created dual lead vocals like two gems set in a ring. The journey away from those studio pop sounds that had gotten in the way of Stewart’s songs ended when the pair added drummer Erik Allen, bassist Aaron Scholpp, pedal steel wizard Charlie Hase and violinist Jonathan Lewis. Although comprised of crackerjack musicians, under the tutelage of producer Shawn Cole (Yukon Blonde, Bend Sinister) the band learned the art of “feeling over precision” which has helped their recordings match the same open, airy, organic sounds as their live performances.MLW